Declan Hercules & Keevah Nyx House: October 2016

While I love all holidays, Halloween is probably my favorite.

I've waited all year to go back to the pumpkin patch - I especially love the big slide through the haystack pyramid. This year I got to bring Keevah Nyx for the first time! She was too little to enjoy the slide, but she had fun eating hay and licking the pumpkins. I don't think she really gets how exciting this season is yet, so I'm trying to teach her. After the pumpkin patch, we had fun decorating our yard - skeleton bones included. I had fun arranging the bones, and Sister had fun putting them in her mouth!

Keevah Nyx waiting for the Great Pumpkin

Cutest pumpkin in the patch

Whoa! This one's heavy!

Vroom vroom

Say "pumpkin"!

We gave Mama a hard time trying to get a good picture of both of us - this is me not looking at the camera, and Nyx eating the pumpkin stem

...and Nyx and I falling over...

...finally the ONLY photo with both of us (kind of) looking

top of the Hay pyramid

In the hay maze

playing with the decorations.

...she's a witch!

Helping Dada hang the cobwebs and spiders

Nyx chewing on the skeleton

Two little skeletons

Did you know that pumpkins float??

Nyx knows how to stand and hold on with only one hand!

Carving the pumpkins was also fun. This year, I finally helped get the guts out - I have a mild aversion to getting my hands dirty since I know Mama will make me wash them. Mama drew a bat pattern and then I carved the whole thing by myself - can you believe they let me use a knife?

Getting the guts out first.

sister will put ANYTHING in her mouth

...the hazards of having an older brother

She probably won't fit inside a pumpkin again

Dada helping me carve our bat pumpkin...

...while Nyx enjoys the guts...

It was a messy day

Finally a nap after all that fun.

I have waited patiently since November 1st of last year to bring my new costume concept to fruition. In case you forgot, I love fans. 2 years ago, I was a box fan for Halloween, and last year I was a wind turbine. This year I decided to be a.....CEILING FAN! I announced this to Mama on Nov 1st last year when she hopefully asked me if I wanted to be a ghost next Halloween. I followed this up with the statement that it needs to spin, otherwise it would be a "broken fan". So, Mama thought and thought and thought about how to make blades that spin...and finally woke up in the middle of the night two months ago with a brilliant idea of using a lazy susan base. We went straight to work with a metal drill bit to attach the fan blades and shoulder straps...and voila! My costume was done!

Keevah Nyx is going as a velociraptor since she sounds like a baby dinosaur with all her shrieking!

My awesome ceiling fan costume

watch how it spins!

with Mama and Raptor girl

playing games at my school harvest carnival - I can't get too close to anyone or anything!

trying to get close enough to make my candy apple

watching Charlie Brown and the Great Pumpkin

Some funny side notes:

This is me 4.5 years ago

This sister...at exactly the same age

I made an electric motor with Dada!!

sister has a very strange peg-legged crawl

Mama left the shower door open while the water was warming up, and guess who crawled in??

Keevah Nyx: I'm 10 months old now, and I've got big news for you. I've finally showed my parents what I've been doing in secret for awhile now - I can CRAWL! I've had no reason to show them this before - they love carrying me around, and big brother Hercules drags me anywhere I want to go. But alas, I was getting frustrated if they didn't pick me up and take me everywhere within 5 seconds of my demand...so I finally decided to get around on my own. Of course, with crawling comes me showing everyone that I can pull up to stand and cruise around on furniture. I figured out how to do all this just in time for our family trip to Hawaii - just so I could demand to crawl up and down the plane aisles!

watch out world, here I come!

Watching my plane arrive

"place your belongings under the seat in front of you..."

Declan Hercules: Since I've been in school for about 5 weeks, it was definitely time to take a 2 week break! Gee & Grandpa took our little family to Maui for a fabulous sun-and-sand-filled adventure. They even took me three days before Mama, Dada, and Keevah arrived. This was my THIRD trip to Hawaii - I'm such a lucky guy! I'm loving my school and my friends, gymzone and swim lessons...but Hawaii is better. I spent every day in the awesome swimming pool with waterslides and waterfalls...and Shirley Temples with extra cherries!

Keevah Nyx:

I was pretty mad that I had to wait three whole days to go to Hawaii after Hercules left. But all was forgiven once I arrived in the tropical air. I was a superstar on my flight, sleeping most of the way. I've been to Hawaii twice now, but the last time I was still in Mama's tummy, and made my poor Mama visit the hospital during her vacation last time. I declare that I am a water baby! I am definitely following in Hercules' footsteps and throwing myself into water at every opportunity - which means that Mama and Dada need to watch me closely. I'm pretty sure I can swim, but Mama and Dada don't agree and won't give me a chance to prove my abilities.

Gee, Grandpa and Declan Hercules sending the rest of us a pic from the beginning of their trip

Declan & Grandpa in the waterfall

Fun in the waterfall

Mama and her water babies

Keevah jumping in!

Playing water games with Grandpa

Dada & daughter

Jumping in together

Gee, Declan & Keevah

Declan's a fish!

Grandparents & grandkids

Declan's game of swimming between our legs

Sleepy Grandpa and Nyx

Nyx didn't get her way - had to put on dry diaper & clothes when she wanted to dive back in the water

Flower girl

flowers are as yummy as sand...

Declan Hercules: I also spent my days digging a hole to China on the beach. I never quite got there, but I'm convinced I was close a few times. I also specialized in building forts with an array of interconnecting tunnels.

Keevah Nyx: SAND IS AMAZING!!! It tastes so yummy! At first, Mama tried to prevent me from eating it...but she quickly gave up when she realized she would be grabbing my hand away every 15 seconds. She figured she'd let me just figure it out on my own that it tastes gross. However, I thwarted her plans in a big way...sand is DELICIOUS! I shoveled it into my mouth at every opportunity. The only downside that I didn't appreciate is that I've been pooping sand for weeks now - and it feels like getting wiped with sandpaper each time. Ouch!!

The beginnings of a fort

Declan writing his name...

YUMMY!!!

Nyx & Grandpa

Pretty girl - stuck in the plants so I don't eat the sand

Digging a river to the ocean...

Big brother writing sissy's name in the sand.

Keevah Nyx watching Hercules & Gee play below on the beach...life is NOT fair!

We're almost to China!!

Declan Hercules: I also learned to SNORKEL! Mama and Dada thought it would take me several times to figure it out, but I took one minute and then swam for open water to chase a sea turtle! I swam with five sea turtles on the first time out and was a pro in my new snorkel gear.

Declan Hercules:

One of my two favorite days of the trip was when we got to go on a boat to snorkel in a place called Coral Gardens. The snorkeling was so much fun, the fishies were awesome, and the water slide off the boat was a blast. However, by far the best part of the day was that there was a hill with about 40 wind turbines in our near vision for the entire trip. I don't think I've ever been happier!

Keevah Nyx:

I got to go on my first boat ride! Though a bit windy, it was really fun. The boat had these cool boogie boards, and I got to ride on one while Grandpa and Mama tugged me along. It was pretty awesome to travel in style...until brother got a little too excited to see me and dunked me whilst trying to get on my same boogie board! Then I just needed to get in a warm swaddle with my bottle to make me happy again.

Grandpa and Declan with the wind turbines

Grandparents & Grandkids...with wind turbines

Dada and kiddos

Gee & Nyx

Windmills!

Taking the plunge...

I'm an awesome snorkeler!

Keevah Nyx loves to boogie board

The whole gang

Declan Hercules:

My second favorite day was the day we went snorkeling with sea turtles in Makena and then met Mama and Dada after their scuba dive to drive on to La Perouse Bay. Its an awesome lava field that we got to hike across, see a cool blow hole, find crab shells, and play on the beach.

Keevah Nyx:

I loved that day too - I rolled around in the sand in Makena, refused to nap in the car since I was having too much fun, and then ate sand in La Perouse Bay. I was also mesmerized by the blow hole, and I liked the little black wild goats that roam the lava fields.

Building a fortress

At Makena beach

La Perouse Bay

Keevah's first blow hole - she loved it.

The boys

An intact crab shell after it molted...now saved for show and tell after being transported back in 50 layers of tissue

Sand is awesome!

Keevah & Declan:

We loved going into the town of Lahaina several times for snow cones, browsing the shops, and visiting a beautiful banyan tree.

Finding Venus - currently the evening star

A whole snapper for dinner!

Grandpa & Declan at the Banyan tree in Lahaina

The boys watching a 100 crabs

The ladies

Declan Hercules:

I got to attend a luau with my whole family! I loved watching all the dancers - and enjoyed practicing my own hula moves. My favorite, however, were the two fire-throwers! I have decided that I will definitely learn how to do that at home with my own firepit - though Mama and Dada are not excited about my plans.

Keevah Nyx:

I got to go to the luau too - I actually liked the pulled pork which surprised Mama. I was mesmerized by the dancers and again refused to fall asleep like I was supposed to - I never want to miss anything!

Finally a picture of the whole gang

Will I ever be able to shake my hips like you?

I smell so nice!

Hula baby

Luau siblings

Declan showing us how to hula

Now that I know how to crawl - I'm making a break for it...no more pictures!!!

Declan and the fire juggler

Declan Hercules:

There was one funny day where Keevah stayed with Gee & Grandpa, and I went with Mama and Dada on a long drive to the other side of Maui to visit the 7 pools. However, half way there we found out they were closed and we had a change of plans. We ended up at a very beautiful botanical gardens, where I fed the Koi, explored the different flowers, and watched two "Nene" (endangered Hawaiian geese). Then we kept driving and happened across a goat cheese dairy. So, of course we stopped, got to feed the happiest goats in the world, and taste the best goat cheese we've ever had. Mama and Dada were a bit frustrated that we ended up driving 5 hours to taste goat cheese, but it was super yummy!